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news.London, UK-based Arrow Therapeutics has initiated a phase I study of A-831, an antiviral inhibitor for hepatitis C infection.
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The study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single escalating doses of A-831 in healthy volunteers in the UK.
A-831 targets the NS5a protein and is the first NS5a inhibitor to enter the clinic. A-831 showed good safety and pharmacokinetics in preclinical studies and excellent potency in the replicon assay. A further Arrow compound, also targeting the NS5a protein but of a completely different chemical structure, is expected to enter preclinical development shortly.
The current standard of care treatment for hepatitis C infection, pegylated interferon plus ribavirin, has a poor side effect profile and is only effective in around 50% of patients. Arrow commented that multiple drugs in combination therapies are likely to be needed to overcome drug resistance.